The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston to Host Annual Youth of the Year Scholarship Awards BanquetOver $75,000 in scholarships will be awarded to local youth

Houston, TX (January 17, 2014) – On Thursday, January 23, 2014, The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston will host the annual Youth of the Year Scholarship Awards Banquet from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Hilton Americas-Houston, located at 1600 Lamar St. This year’s Youth of the Year competition will award over $75,000 to a total of 17 recipients.

The event’s keynote speaker will be Alphonso Roundtree, former Miami Dolphin player and current Lifestyle Coach. The top winners of the three divisions – 6th & 7th grade, 8th & 9th grade, and 10th – 12th grade- will also deliver their inspirational speeches for the attendees. Talented Club members will round out the evening with musical performances.

“I am overjoyed that for the past six years we have been able to so grandly reward our most outstanding Club members,” said Doug Smith, Executive Director of The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston. “To be able to take the assistance we offer these youth throughout the years a step further and help them by providing financial support for a higher education is truly a blessing.”

Beginning at the age of 12, Club members are able to participate in the annual competition. This year, 35 participants, ages 12 to 18, began preparing for this competition since September of last year.

“The beauty of Youth of the Year is that participants are able to compete every year and basically have the opportunity to accumulate scholarship money won and graduate from the Club with their college education fully funded, just through this one program,” commented Diana “Stick” Delaup, The Youth of the Year Scholarship Awards Banquet event chair.

While the Boys & Girls Clubs Youth of the Year program already existed and is exclusively for youth ages 14 to 18, The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston expanded the program to include 12 and 13-year-olds and created the awards banquet to recognize the recipients. This effort was primarily headed by past Salvation Army Advisory Board member and former representative for the Advisory Board to The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council Ms. Judi A. McGee, and for this reason she has been named this year’s Honoree.

The fundraising event is open to the public by ticket purchase or sponsorship and all proceeds raised will be used to award additional scholarships and help send youth to summer day camp. Individual tickets are $175 and levels of sponsorships range from $1,500 to $5,000. Tickets and sponsorships may be purchased by contacting Denise Furlough at 832.201.8026 or via e-mail, denise_furlough@uss.salvationarmy.org.

The Youth of the Year scholarship competition is a year-round youth development program for Club members ages 12 to 18. Youth that compete must be a leader in their Club, perform community and Club service, speak well about what the Club means to them, and be strong in character. Winners and finalists in each of the divisions earn scholarships for continued education upon graduating from high school.

The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs serve over 4,000 children in six Clubs in the Houston Metropolitan area, and the majority of the children are from disadvantaged circumstances.

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In this community since 1889, a United Way of Greater Houston agency, The Salvation Army Greater Houston Area Command serves Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties through youth programs, shelter, disaster relief, counseling, senior programs and rehabilitation. The mission of The Salvation Army Greater Houston Area Command is to meet human needs without discrimination. Each year over 33 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army. About 88.4 cents of every dollar raised locally is used to support those services in Houston and at close to 9,000 communities nationwide. For more information about The Salvation Army, please visit www.salvationarmyhouston.org.

Mission Statement
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.